I just came across this NEW turntable today...It has all the features you could want...Counterweight? Check! Anti-Skating Dial?? Check! Check! Removable or upgradeable cartridge??? Check! Check! Check! It also has the ability to sync with Bluetooth speakers, if you're into that sort of thing...You can use the built-in preamp, but it also gives you the option to switch to YOUR OWN preamp, should you desire...It comes with a standard Audio Technica cartridge (set to 2.5 grams in the video below), but it looks like you could upgrade to an Ortofon or any other cartridge of your choice...The kicker...It's UNDER $100, people...

THAT SAID, let it not go unsaid that I will still fight for the virtues of a well-built VINTAGE turntable ANY DAY...No one is dissuading me from buying vintage in the least and I will still go vintage if given a choice...I still find the aesthetics and quality of a VINTAGE turntable to be mostly miles above the rest...You all know the tables in my personal arsenal...BUT, for a newbie just getting their feet wet in the hobby and wanting something more substantial (and well-built) than a Crosley, Ion, or similar clone, for a minimum amount of coin, this may be just what they've been looking for!

Ladies and gentlemen...Check out the Heyday turntable from Target! Here is a review I found that might interest you guys...

Again, I have no affiliation whatsoever with this table...I only came across it in my travels today and was wondering what you all think...Who knows? It might just be another option to the U-Turn, but I will be cautious in making any more verdicts until I hear what the expert Engineers here have to say...So, guys, what say you??? :-k

What I'd really like to know is if any of you have bought one or inspected one closer at a Target near you...Some more reviews of this thing might be in order before we accept it into the canon of "new budget tables" worth recommending...So far, it looks better than a Crosley and that's all I can say about it...Again, more thoughts, guys??? :-k

Of course, this is apparently their house brand, which means they designed it themselves...And I have not seen a cheap turntable in ages with a counterweight, removable cartridge and anti-skating dial, especially for UNDER $100 (You can also use your own preamp, attach to a receiver with the RCA cables and/or replace the cartridge with a different model like a Shure or Ortofon)...And we ALL know that the tracking forces on those Crosleys are hideous and insidious! Our own BMRR tested the tracking force of the Crosley and it was off the scale!

This one is at 2.5 grams, which seems a bit more reasonable...I'm not saying it's the best, or for the longtimers like you and me, but for someone considering either a Crosley or this, this one ticks off a few more of the things I look for in a table...I may just have to go to Target and inspect one of these myself just to see if it passes muster...Like I said, the jury's still out because it's too new...Of course, you can still buy something else at Target, if the Heyday doesn't pan out...They're selling more vinyl records now, which can't be THAT bad a thing...

I betcha that turntable has a crappy plastic tonearm pivot assembly like those Ion jobs did.
It's onviously geared towards the young (inexperienced aka dumb) milennial crowd...
Ya know those types GLUED to their cellphones and technolgy.

I'd agree that it is likely a step above a Crosley Pyle of crap. For the cost of two or three new LP's, it might be just the thing for a teenager to get started with. It would also be good for all those questionable thrift store finds. I didn't know Target sold records either. The short time they were in Canada, they did not have much electronics and the prices weren't that competitive.

Regarding the vinyl, the top article mentions some exclusive vinyl colors that may be only available at Target...They've been selling a lot of vinyl over the past couple of years and if the vinyl sales continue to increase and it gets more people into the hobby, I'm all for it!

I just came across this NEW turntable today...It has all the features you could want...Counterweight? Check! Anti-Skating Dial?? Check! Check! Removable or upgradeable cartridge??? Check! Check! Check! It also has the ability to sync with Bluetooth speakers, if you're into that sort of thing...You can use the built-in preamp, but it also gives you the option to switch to YOUR OWN preamp, should you desire...It comes with a standard Audio Technica cartridge (set to 2.5 grams in the video below), but it looks like you could upgrade to an Ortofon or any other cartridge of your choice...The kicker...It's UNDER $100, people...

THAT SAID, let it not go unsaid that I will still fight for the virtues of a well-built VINTAGE turntable ANY DAY...No one is dissuading me from buying vintage in the least and I will still go vintage if given a choice...I still find the aesthetics and quality of a VINTAGE turntable to be mostly miles above the rest...You all know the tables in my personal arsenal...BUT, for a newbie just getting their feet wet in the hobby and wanting something more substantial (and well-built) than a Crosley, Ion, or similar clone, for a minimum amount of coin, this may be just what they've been looking for!

Ladies and gentlemen...Check out the Heyday turntable from Target! Here is a review I found that might interest you guys...

Again, I have no affiliation whatsoever with this table...I only came across it in my travels today and was wondering what you all think...Who knows? It might just be another option to the U-Turn, but I will be cautious in making any more verdicts until I hear what the expert Engineers here have to say...So, guys, what say you??? :-k

What I'd really like to know is if any of you have bought one or inspected one closer at a Target near you...Some more reviews of this thing might be in order before we accept it into the canon of "new budget tables" worth recommending...So far, it looks better than a Crosley and that's all I can say about it...Again, more thoughts, guys??? :-k

Everyone? No, not even close. This is a product aimed at uninformed, impulse shoppers that want a turntable because it's the cool thing to have. If they were serious about making a serious turntable, they would publish specs on their product. They don't. At least there are no specs anywhere on the Target website. Here's EVERYTHING Target has to say about this product:

So, it looks cool, has Blueotooth and lets you play your "old-school vinyls" wirelessly. Ugh. That right there tells you who their target (pun intended) buyers are.

You know who else doesn't publish specs on their turntables - Crosley. You know why? Two reasons, they suck and they know their potential customers don't know any better and don't care.

This is "designed" to check all the right boxes on a list of features without providing the performance to take advantage of those features. Audio Technica, Fluance, Teac and U-Turn all publish specs for their products. The specs might not always be up to the same level as most vintage turntables, but at least they aren't so bad they are embarrassed to publish them.

I agree that I think specs are needed...The Bluetooth feature can be turned on or off, too...There are jacks to connect other speakers, if one so desires...You can also add your own preamp...Don't worry, I'm sticking with vintage, but I'll be interested to see more reviews start coming out and comparing this one to the competitors you mentioned, MCM_Fan...For it's pricepoint and the fact that it has the three things I look for in a turntable (not the ONLY three things, of course...), a counterweight, removable cartridge and anti-skate dial, it's not for us audiophile veterans, but it could be just the thing for the newbies...Maybe Michael Fremer should have a say regarding it? :-k

I agree that I think specs are needed...The Bluetooth feature can be turned on or off, too...There are jacks to connect other speakers, if one so desires...You can also add your own preamp...Don't worry, I'm sticking with vintage, but I'll be interested to see more reviews start coming out and comparing this one to the competitors you mentioned, MCM_Fan...For it's pricepoint and the fact that it has the three things I look for in a turntable (not the ONLY three things, of course...), a counterweight, removable cartridge and anti-skate dial, it's not for us audiophile veterans, but it could be just the thing for the newbies...Maybe Michael Fremer should have a say regarding it? :-k

Thanks for the link. Comment from someone in that thread who actually bought one of the Heyday turntables at Target:

"I picked one of these up for my kids. It's really simple to set up the feet have springs for suspension, which is kinda cool. Looks good, and the dustcover and hinges are surprising solid.

Unfortunately it sounds terrible and has major speed issues, especially playing 45s. Not too surprised I guess.

It's funny that the guy in the unboxing video mentions how heavy it is. It's not heavy at all."

This is why I suspect they don't publish specs. They know they are terrible, but hope their potential buyers won't know/care.

"It's like some of these guys have zero life perspective... I guess everyone's first car needs to be a Ferrari."

No, most people don't buy new for their first car. They buy a used car with a proven track record, because they know it's a better value that a poorly made, under-performing new car.

Seems like a fitting analogy for turntable shopping as well. Yep, that used turntable, like a used car may, need a tune up, but once it's properly serviced, it will outperform something new at a comparable price point.

If we go to price under 600 EUR, noone is producing turntables at that rank at home, only Rega and Pro-ject, but their models at that price are basic and won`t last. Others are using taiwanese and chinese producers and all these tables are not worth much. If buying new, only Panasonic is one which designed and is producing turntables by them and some other smaller manufacturers from Japan and Germany, but prices there are at least 3000 EUR. Panasonic is capable to design and put turntable by themselves on the market at much cheaper price, because they are huge corporation and can sustain turntable line, even if it don`t bring much profit in the next years. Others would get into bankruptcy if doing so.

Definitely not your father's Oldsmobile, but most of these buyers wouldn't know what an Oldsmobile was anyways.

It's definitely poor quality and will be lucky to last till next Christmas, but perhaps it will pique the interest of a small percentage to get into something better in the future. There would be a market for someone making something more substantial and better quality to sell to, as well as incentive to produce new records.

That video review spent more time on unboxing than anything else and gushing over how great it's having Bluetooth is. There are a lot better entry level new turntables out there but they aren't under $100. You can't expect good quality at that price point, but the average buyer for these things only wants cheap anyways.

Not for me. The cheapest new turntable which fully meets my needs, happens to be the Technics SL-1200G. I don't need Bluetooth, sub par build quality, iffy reliability, features I don't need or want, a tonearm with less than precision bearings, or poorly isolated from the wood floors and gimpy feet which it must live with.